Leading off…

Kemp stays in the leadoff spot in Houston…good to see the team regroup last night after giving up the lead and pull out the victory. Before tonight’s game, the Dodgers optioned Clayton Kershaw to make room for Hiroki Kuroda, who gets the start. I’m not with the team, so I can’t explain the reasoning but I’m sure Joe Torre will do so shortly…obviously someone had to go for Kuroda to be activated and it makes sense if we have six starters for the most recent one to get a little respite heading into the All-Star Break. At least that’s my sense at this point.

Hope to see some of you tonight at the Hollywood Bowl show saluting the Dodgers. Vin Scully, Tommy Lasorda and Nancy Bea Hefley will all be a part of it this evening. So will fireworks all three nights (as well as July 12 at Dodger Stadium).

After the game tonight, James Loney Before the Bigs will premiere on FSN Prime Ticket so keep the TV tuned in.

And finally, I’m not sure what the comment means about numbering the blogs like DodgerThoughts does. I tried to look and see what that was referring to but do not see what you want us to do.

I know I said I was going before, and I’ll be gone after this post but I had to say that I’m not surprised the Kersh was sent back down. He’ll be great, no doubt. But I feel he needs more time in the minors. I’m not concerned; he will do great things for us in the future!

jnv – LMAO!!! Well, I married a gnats fan – so what does that tell you? Absolutely crazy sometimes!!! The theory fits so well, it’s scary – once again, I have watched too many episodes of the Sopranos. My husband believes it too because why on earth would the Dodgers hire a former gnat to run the organization, and he has a hey day with Conte and Torre now ~ LOL!!!

The Dodgers have optioned 20-year-old rookie left-hander Clayton Kershaw to Class AA Jacksonville the day after he made his 17th professional start of the season without getting a win. Kershaw found out about 10 minutes ago and was packing his things. “It’s disappointing, but it’s a business,” he said. “I’m going to Jacksonville to keep pitching like I’m supposed to. I didn’t expect it. Right now, I’m just disappointed.” Mark Sweeney saw Kershaw with media gathered around his locker and told Kershaw, “Keep going, buddy.”

crzblue – I mentioned this on previous thread, but I am assuming if you are going to the 80’s luncheon, it was worth it? – the price is more reasonable than I expected – thanks. My mom would have really liked the 70’s, but she is really looking forward to the 80’s now.

It’s ok. Kersh is just getting started. He has 20 plus years ahead of him!!

I will sadly miss the game tonight because I will be at the Hollywood Bowl’s Tribute to the Dodgers. Is anyone else going? It’s supposed to be spectacular.

You all have to update me on tomorrow’s blog.

Afterthought. I got to see the Dodgers Star on the walk of fame this last Tuesday. It was such a great experience, I really can’t describe it. Unfortunetly, they are next to the Victoria’s Secret Star AND a vendor cart with cheap plastic jewelry was blocking it!

I need vets, vets to ease my mind.
I need to sign, sign some bum past their prime.
And Neddy says
You can’t win with kids.
No, they just have to sit.
He said, vets are more seasoned.
They’ll lead our kids and get more hits.

You can’t win with kids.
No, you must play the fakes.
You’ve got to trust the vets in decline.
No matter how long it takes.

But how many losses.
Must we stand, before we play the kids.
That let us win someday.
They are the only thing.
That keeps us hanging on.
When I feel the team, yeah,
Is going young.
I remember Furter said.

You can’t win with kids.
No, they just have to sit.
He says the vets will see us thru.
From the kids at bats they’ll take.
How long must they wait.
How much can the vets skate.
Before ineptitude, will cause the team to tank.

No, I can’t bear to watch Fat Andruw Jones.
I grow impatient for Frank, to send Colletti home.
And when I see Phew,
I can’t go on.
Ned’s ignorant words, I keep gaggin’ on.
I remember Neddy said.

You can’t win with kids.
No, they just have to sit.
The vets are our leaders.
From the kids at bats they’ll take.
You can’t win with kids.
No, they just have to wait.

He said trust the vets in decline.
No matter how the young guys rake.

No wins, wins don’t come easy.
So we keep on failing.
Anticipating, for that old vet
To come thru some night.
For a stronger arm.
And Andre every night.
We keep waiting.
We keep on waiting.
But it ain’t easy.
Cause Neddy says.

You can’t win with kids.
No, they just have to sit.
He said the vets are more seasoned.
They’ll bridge the gap for heavens sake.

sara – I am assuming they put Andre back in the 2 hole because of last night. They are not going to walk Matt to get to Andre and then onto Russell. If you were at softball last night for this part, they intentionally walked Matt to get to Delwyn. Matt has protection now and so does Andre because you can’t bat around them because of Russell, Kent and Loney to follow. See how much better things look without Pierre in there. Young can still hit at the bottom – he’s just a little more unpredictable so you never know what he will do.

Sara,
Your right Troncoso or Falkenborg should have been sent down if Mr. .096 wasn’t DFA’d, except those are Torres buddies. I swear I want to work for Torre and Colletti, where else in the world can you go to work and be the absolute worst at your job and still have managements approval????

If Sweeny got hurt would Torre still put him out there? I mean he used to be a PH and even on crutches he could get a swing or two in??? What do you think?

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! I gotta go, everyone have a great night and look forward to our conversations tomorrow!!🙂

I meant, number the posts. That way if I want to make a comment about post # 357, I don’t have to copy and paste the entire post on my post. I just have to say, “In response to post #357, I agree you are correct, Ned along with JoJo need to be fired, and Logan White Needs to steer the ship.”

Hi amy – have fun tonight sounds like a blast !!!!
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jhall – you are definitely back!!! SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!!!
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I hope Sweeney really appreciates Joe right now because all of us and all the other boards involving Dodger baseball would’ve had him thrown out on his *** by now. 🙂

Dnel,
This is the last I posted on the prior thread:
Dnel,
tickets are $75 but they do include a ticket to the game in the Reserved section. If you want Loge then is a little more. Also you get to go to the stadium early so you don’t pay for parking. They will direct you where to park. Once is over it should be close to BP. We stayed in the left field sitting in the shade being surpervised by ushers so we would not be asking the boys for baseballs or talking with them or asking for autographs.
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Yes, to me it was worth it seeing the boys of the 70’s even if I see some of them at the stadium like Garv and Cey but is one thing to see them go by and greet them than for them to be there spending time with the fans. You can bring anything you like to be signed. You’ve be surprised what people bring. There was someone that brought one of those white athletic shoes with the logo and had it signed by all the boys there. there were also big posters.
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I will be at the Hollywood bowl on Friday 7/4. Afterwards I was thinking that I won’t see Vin Scully since he will be in San Francisco😦.

Amy: Let us know what we can take at the Bowl. I know for some events they permit to take wine but for some other concerts they do not so I am not sure.

I know DeWitt has been struggling, but if you think about it, all batters 1-7 (sometimes 8 because he does have 1 HR) are very capable of hitting a double or possibly even a homerun. We couldn’t say that a few days ago.

Been gone (in transition). Too bad about Kershaw going down, but it’s understandable. It couldn’t be Sweeney, because we don’t need 13 pitchers. (If you think they should DFA Sweeney the next time a position player comes off the DL–or sooner–that is obviously justifiable, but they needed a pitcher.
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I actually think it would have made sense to option Falkenborg or Troncoso, and let Kershaw work out of the bullpen. It would keep down his innings and let him work through his experience against big leaguers. Bills did this in 2006 and 2007, and now he’s the ace starter. But, obviously, they want him on a starting schedule. I know Vegas is a tough city for a pitcher, but I would have liked him to go back there, and deal with the better hitters. Kershaw’s stuff is not the problem–he has great stuff, and getting out AA hitters is not an issue. It’s just learning to pitch against the best hitters.
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Anyway, he’ll be back in Los Angeles no later than September 1.
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This is good, however, in another way, which is showing that the team has faith in Eric Stults. Stults has been good the last 2 years. He is not the phenom that Kershaw is, and at 28 his arm is mature enough to handle innings. And while I don’t see him as a 1 or 2 starter, he might well be a very good 3, 4, or 5 starter. With Lowe almost certainly heading to free agency in the off-season, no guarantees about Schmidt (to, um, say the least), seeing Stults get a real chance this year (this is his last option year), is very good. A rotation of Bills, Kershaw, Penny, Kuroda, and Stults is possible (and, of course, Penny’s not exactly free from a history of injuries, and his deal is up in 2009, and there are questions about him).

jnv – don’t get too upset. If they DFA’d Sweeney instead of sending Kersh down, you’d be carrying 13 pitchers. IMO Kersh needs to work on things in a less high-profile environment. If we want a 5-inning pitcher we’ll activate Penny. He just need to work on strengthening his arm and building up innings. We’ll see him again in September.

When Penny comes back, I’d surmize Troncoso’s the next to go.

FIRE JOJO. FIRE NED. (I always like to throw that in at some point in the day.)

I guess it makes sense. Kersh can certainly benefit from more time in AA and less pressure. He will be back soon.
Hope Kuroda is 100% tonight. We really need him to anchor the middle of our rotation now.

I went to Cooperstown in April 1999 and it was and always will be one of the top 5 highlights of my baseball life. I still have the T-Shirt that says – ” Cooperstown – a small drinking town with a Baseball problem.”

Ethier didn’t do too bad against the lefty last night (no strikeouts) so hopefully this will be a turn around for him – some confidence, especially without Pierre looking over his shoulder for a while. Either (ethier?lol!) way, this lineup is very,very solid if they can get going at the same time. If I were a pitcher, there is no let up for the first 7 (possibly 8 batters). Like I said above, everyone of them can hit a homerun at any time or minimum a double after double after double .

another quote from kershaw.. this one posted by tony jackson.. he sounds more disappointed in this one.. also a little note about raffy at the end:

I was as surprised as you undoubtedly are, but no one was more surprised that Kershaw himself. Joe Torre stressed, both to Clayton and to the media, that the move was more about needing a roster spot for Hiroki Kuroda, who is coming off the DL and starting tonight, than it was about the way Clayton has pitched. But as Clayton himself said, “Any way you spin it, I’m getting sent down. They can say they didn’t have enough room, but they (brought) me up when they didn’t have enough room, because all those (pitchers) were healthy then.” Haven’t gotten a definitive explanation yet of why it’s Jacksonville and not Las Vegas, but I’m sure it’s because they don’t want to subject the kid to the psychological perils of pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. … Still nothing on Furcal, but Torre admitted he now has to take on the mindset that Furcal isn’t coming back until he does. At this point, I’m not convinced he is coming back at all, but Torre was a bit more cautious. “We have half a season (left),” he said. “I would like to think that is going to happen.”

dnelly, yes, i thought ethier did rather well last night against *GASP* a lefty.. but until i see joe play ethier against all lefties or at the top of the order against all lefties, i will continue to believe there is no convincing joe of that fact that ethier is just a good hitter regardless of who is pitching..

Kuroda, Lowe, Billingsly, Park, Stults, Penny–Is Penny coming back? With all this pitching confusion and the new 6 man rotation I’ve lost track of the order. Someone be so kind to type it out for me…all six glorious spots in order please?

amy, penny may be back to pitch on saturday if he’s feeling alright. i think the six man rotation was only if they kept kershaw, but they didn’t. park’s back in the pen, so it will be a 5-man as long as penny is good to go.

This was written in the Times all of, oh, six days ago. Again, Dodger doublespeak:

But whatever trouble Kershaw has had in the majors isn’t enough to convince Manager Joe Torre that he would be better served refining his craft in the minors.

“I don’t necessarily see him going backward in the quality of his starts,” Torre said. “I think he’s learning something. It might be something subtle every time out. I don’t see him as being lost out there or not feeling he can handle the situation.”

Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said he hasn’t even considered the possibility of optioning Kershaw to Jacksonville.

“This is where you want him to continue to improve his trade,” Honeycutt said.

Dnel,
I asked questions for both the 60’s and 70’s luncheon when Charlie Steiner open it to the fans to ask questions to any of the boys or to share a special day at the park that stands out for us during that decade. If you go, I will also ask “Is Dnel in the house?”. lol. Back when I used to post in the Dodger forum, that is how I found Lore when we both attended the first WIn event that was a breafast event. I put my hand up and asked first “does anyone here post in the Dodger forum?”. I remember the day ’cause it was 9/9/05 on the 40th anniversary of Koufax perfect game. I looked at the field from the club level restaurant and got chills imagining that day in 1965.

One thing about this lineup….nobody’s missing.
Las Vegas should start taking bets.
When will Kershaw win….Major or Minor leagues.
When will Sweeney get his next hit.
Pick the dates.
Nice win last night, taking it after blowing the lead.
It takes good teamwork to do that.
I think we have a good team as is, we just have to put it all together and win, like last night.
Let’s get after Runelvys Hernandez and make him work.
LET’S GO KURODA!!!!!!!

sara – it’s the Pierre factor that’s blocking his playing time and that won’t go away for at least 1 more year as long as Torre is in charge. I just hope for the next 4-6 weeks these young players prove they can win games without Furcal and Pierre at the top of the order (no pressure mind you – lol!!)

what’s strange is that my dad had his rehearsal dinner was at Minuet Maid park. I was in high school, Loney probably was somewhere in Houston in high school at the same time. I already asked my stepmom if she’s friends with the Loney family, sadly, she said no😦 I tried.

crzblue – however, I may be escorted out for all those songs I have done. Maybe I should ask “Where is my Flat Stanley?” LOL!!!! I can already picture enchanted sitting in the back of the room going “He’s in left field, you just won’t listen, will you?”

There’s my Juan, hurt that’s all
Who gave that piano to jhall?
Olden tears, old **** **** ****
Come get up, my Juanpy

They always slam you, just ‘cause you’re never on base, angel
Come get up, my Juanpy
Throws to second arrive rolling
That’s OK ‘cause by then they’re on third, sliding
Come get up, my Juanpy

I’ll stick with you baby for a thousand years
I’ll never ever bench you ‘till I run out of beers
Olden tears, old **** **** ****
Come get up, my Juanpy

One of these days, and it won’t be long
Underneath my pants’ll be a nice tight thong
In the back of a dream car twenty foot long
Don’t cry my sweet, don’t break my heart
We can stay all night in the lot at WalMart
Wish upon, wish upon, day upon day, I believe oh lord
I believe all the way
Come get up, my Juanpy
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows, run for the shadows from the paparazzi

Some day I can get implanted
Maybe that piano came from en-chant-ed
Golden years, gold **** **** ****
Come get up, my Juanpy

Don’t let me hear you say that you’re on the DL, angel
Come get up, my Juanpy
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows
Run for the shadows in my golden years

no complaints about the lineup. it’s been good but you know it’s not going to last…. so let’s just enjoy this as much as we can.
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Kershaw will be okay, kid’s only 20😦 it just sucks cus his family & friends were all there last night & clapping/standing cheering him on.. hopefullly he doesn’t take it too hard cus we all know theres great potential in the kid🙂
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I’m hoping to see a homerun from either Andre, Kemp, Loney, or Russell tonight…. and maybe a Sweeney appearance too? HAHA wouldn’t that just make my night. Why does Torre do that to him, how humiliating.

LOL! The censored word is straight out of the song, really more of a sound effect than anything else. I never thought that it is also a derogatory and offensive term for a person of Italian lineage. Cripes, my wife’s Italian…..I wouldn’t DARE!!

Kershaw will be fine. He just needs more seasoning before coming back up. Too bad he couldn’t get a win while he was up. I know of at least two he should have had that were blown. Nice going Kent, to get us a run in the 1st.
GO DODGERS!!!

Well, that was SOME catching up I had to do. I see the songwriting is still consistently creative AND prolific. I must mention that enchanted taking on “Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)” was pretty ambitious – nice job.

Sweeney needs to go. Anywhere but here. It wouldn’t be very fair if Maza goes. At least he’s above the Mendoza line in batting. Berroa just blows offensively, and his defense isn’t that spectacular either. Who knows for sure with Joe & Ned at the helm who’s going where….

Right before Andre hit the home run Steve Lyons made a comment that the next pitch could be a good one for Ethier to hit. He just finished saying it and Andre hit it out. It was pretty funny. Psycho must be psychic.

What worries me is that we’re going to get used to this winning line-up but at every opportunity Joe is going to sit youth over vets. My money is on JP returning to the lineup irrespective of how well Ethier and Kemp play.

bluecrewgirl – YES i heard it too.. i wanted to say something about that but I got too excited I forgot to post it hahaha.. but that was really funny cus not even a second after he finished his sentence it happened..

bluecrewgirl – YES i heard it too.. i wanted to say something about that but I got too excited I forgot to post it hahaha.. but that was really funny cus not even a second after he finished his sentence it happened..

iheartethier16, it was like Andre hit it on cue. There was barely any lapse between him saying it and the homer. I hope this lineup can keep producing. Hopefully, they can all get hot at the same time.

if only Torre can really think about the positive outcomes of a lineup like this.. but you know he’s only thinking about his precious Pierre… hoping he gets better so he can have his permanent lead off spot back & yes Kent’s got this weird energy.. a good kinda energy about him.. maybe cus he’s playing with a younger group these past two days and its helped him stepped it up… instead of just slumping and going downwards with the rest of the vets…
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Kuroda doing better than I expected his first day back…
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gotta repeat 438 FT. HOMER by Andre🙂
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That suicide was really impressive I was really nervous cus I didn’t think Maza could pull it off…
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This has only been 2 days.. imagine if the rest of the season has a great lineup like this….. Not only do the kids get to improve everyday it’ll also bring up their spirits and can only help them …. Keeping the faith that maybe it’ll happen?

ASG VOTING ENDS at 8:59 PM PT. KEEP VOTING FOR RUSSELL U GUYS!! it sucks so bad that he’s not even in top 5 right now😦 what kinda message is that sending him? and TORRE…. get everyone around you to vote it takes less than 10 minutes to do it 25x. Use everyone’s email that you know!! keep going………………..
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OMG & I hope SWEENEY doesnt come PH later, god I feel like I probably just jinxed it & he’s going to make his appearance next inning.. HAHA…

omg they’re doing a freeze cam on Andre’s Homerun right now.. AH!!! yay🙂 you know Sports Center is going to highlight his homer tonight like crazy. God he really just took that ball out… hit it soo hard. He probably imagined that ball was Torre’s head… HAHA jk.

but also, of course, it will be easier for pedroia to get a single than ethier a triple.. as amazing as andre has been.. sorry dnelly, i’m not putting your boy down.. haha.. it’s just that he’s not much of a triples hitter and he may not even get up again..

haha yeah, dnelly, that’s how i feel about the braves.. because i have 3 braves, but my friend/rival has the braves pitching staff, so i need my 3 hitters to do well, but i need them to give up a bunch of runs as well..

“Dodgers bullpen coach Ken Howell had a part of his third toe on his right foot amputated at USC Medical Center on Tuesday due to a foot infection. Howell is expected to be discharged from the hospital by Friday.”

sara – I have Braves pitching and I have to sit through the series with my friend who is a Braves fan hoping the Dodgers win. I like the Braves, just not when they are playing us. We are going there for the series with the Dodgers and then we are going to one game in SD. My friend wants to see Maddux pitch if possible. She was in Atlanta when he, Glavine and Smoltz were it. So, for the Dodger series I got pretty good seats hoping Dodger fans will be good to her.
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Still proud of you Andre (3 for 5), – fantastic way to start July batting .400 4 for 10 for these two games.

ooh pedroia came up and hit an RBI double, which i’m sure he’s proud of, but no cycle.. wonder if he thought about just holding at first for the single he needed.. i bet his fans would have wanted him to.. haha..

DNelly, have you noticed he’s been clean shaven the last 2 games and he’s starting to come around? Even though I like the five o’clock shadow look on him, maybe he should keep the clean look for awhile just to keep the good karma going, lol. I liked the unshaven look on Blake tonight. It suits him. By the way, they just interviewed Andre on Dodgers Live. Steve asked him if he was doing anything differently now that he is starting to hit again and he said no, that he has stuck with his game plan and that he’s been hitting the ball pretty well in recent games, just to the wrong places, which is true. He said the coaches have been telling him to keep up with his same approach too and the balls will start to fall in the right places.

Great victory. I thought Matt dropped that ball at first and my heart skipped a beat.

WADEIZED!!!
That was two nice starts by Kershaw & Kuroda.
Don’t worry kids I’m sure Kersh’ll be back, sooner than you think.
Everbody looks good and Nomar can’t hurt this club.
I’m actually looking forward to him since it’s been a long time since we had any offense from the SS position.
So Nomar if anything gives us a better look.

bluecrewgirl – I saw the interview – he really has been hitting the ball (few strikeouts), just hitting in the wrong spots. He had quite a few that the defense just had fabulous plays on the ball too. Even the games he didn’t hit well, he made up for it in defense. You can tell he doesn’t get interviewed alot -say ummm too much. My husband pointed that out to me. I told him I don’t care- LOL!!!!

Torre’s Stories. Again with his Yanks…………… blah blah blah!!!!!!!!!!! EWWWWWWWWWWW CAN HE JUST GO BACK TO NY ALREADY THEN… F*CK CAN WE GET A MANAGER WHO ACTUALLY LOVES L.A. AND BLEEDS BLUE.. ???? I think any of us bloggers on this site would make a better manager than TORRE. UGH, disgusting.

Don’t know if they’ve turned any corners yet, but this line-up seems to have a lot more jump without JP the indespensible leadoff hitter making 4-5 outs a game. I like Kemp at the top of the order. Great game by Kuroda as well.

DNelly, yes he does say you know a bit much, lol, but a lot of them do. Bills always says I mean a lot when he’s interviewed. I think it’s just nerves. I’ve been told I say uh huh a lot when I’m talking on the phone and I don’t even realize it.

I’m still in shock about Kershaw’s demotion. I think he’s done well on the ML level, but, on the other hand, IMHO, he does have things to learn, and Rick Honeycutt is NOT the man to teach those things . . . so maybe this is a good move, just disappointing. HE WILL BE BACK!!!

Big Sur is in between Monterey/Carmel and Santa Barbara – not really affecting us like the Sierra’s are. The fires close to me are just causing smoky/hazy days. They are about an hour or so away up the mountain, and I am down here in the valley.

Nice solid win by our boys tonight. I’ve always thought that Andre is a Paul O’Neill type of player and he showed that tonght. You have to feel for Kershaw’s situation. A little more support in a few of his starts and he might still be on the club. I do, however, feel that the PCL would be a little more of a challenge for him than AA. Living in a PCL city, I’m well aware of the league’s reputation as a hitter’s league but I think Kershaw can handle it. The league did’nt permanently scar Bills, as I recall….It’s exciting to witness what’s going on in Tampa Bay. Reminds me of Seattle in the 90’s when they first started playing well.

enchanted – that’s good to hear about Nomar. As long as he can handle SS, his bat can’t be too much worse than Maza, but it’s a matter of how healthy he stays too.
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iheartaethier – I worry about Yosemite most – not only the landscape, but they rely on this time of year for revenue too. They will take a big financial hit if they lose their campers and tourists. 😦

Sure hope Nomar’s got something left in the tank. Any offense from SS would be an improvement. Nomar, however, is not our future. Bringing up DeJesus would give us an idea what our options are. Maza and, at this point, Hu are not the answer. Furcal’s future is uncertain and it’s his walk year. If we find that DeJesus can’t cut it and Furcal doesn’t recover sufficiently, we probably have to look at free agents. Kind of like the same situation when we signed Furcal and Itzuris’s health was uncertain.

No one else took a look at that link are we concerned about the Giants and dback losing hahaha. I think that a good article to read. I wonder if eduardo going to show his face tonight since Ethier shut him up. Where is ndschene at? I know I spell that wrong but you guys know who i’m talking about.

haha yes, I meant to say he’s one of the guys u liked to watch.. I remember when I first started posting you said something like Andre is yours and Grady is your friends.. something like that.. haha🙂 but yay! to both of them for the homeruns today!

Hear Ye!Hear Ye!Hear Ye! Our Super Beloved Los Angeles Dodgers Played Great With A 4 To 1 Victory over The Houston Astros! Super Hero Gutsy Hiroki Kuroda displays World Series Championship Form Hurling 7 Shutout Innings With 1 Strikeout and only 1 Walk! Super Hero Corey Wade did a Super Job in closing the Game Out!Amazing Super Hero Andre EthierDoes It Again With His 3 for 5 at the plate, His Home Run Orbit Blast, 2 Runs Scored, and RBI!Andre, you are a True Dodger Leader! Super Hero Skipper Joe Torre With His over 2000 hits as a player, and 2000 wins as a manager is definitely a Kryptonite Buster, with all his Brilliant Moves! About last Night, Super Heroes Russel Martin and Matt Kemp showed their absolute selflessness on the Double Steal when Superman Jeff Kent was Batting! You guys definitely have Super Powers and you always think of you teammates and Fans First! Matt & Russel you are becomng Legends Right Before Our Eyes and are True Los Angeles Dodgers Super Heroes and World Series Champions To Be! And Superman Jeff Kent wanted to repay you guys for your Ultimate Character ,and He did For You and All of Us Dodger Fans With His Game Winning Home Run Rocket Blast! The Invincible, Indestructable, One of The Greatest Baseball Players Of All Time!, Our Very Own,Superman Jeff Kent came through Again all PlayersSpeakin

Hear Ye!Hear Ye!Hear Ye! Our Super Beloved Los Angeles Dodgers Played Great With A 4 To 1 Victory over The Houston Astros! Super Hero Gutsy Hiroki Kuroda displays World Series Championship Form Hurling 7 Shutout Innings With 1 Strikeout and only 1 Walk! Super Hero Corey Wade did a Super Job in closing the Game Out!Amazing Super Hero Andre EthierDoes It Again With His 3 for 5 at the plate, His Home Run Orbit Blast, 2 Runs Scored, and RBI!Andre, you are a True Dodger Leader! Super Hero Skipper Joe Torre With His over 2000 hits as a player, and 2000 wins as a manager is definitely a Kryptonite Buster, with all his Brilliant Moves! About last Night, Super Heroes Russel Martin and Matt Kemp showed their absolute selflessness on the Double Steal when Superman Jeff Kent was Batting! You guys definitely have Super Powers and you always think of you teammates and Fans First! Matt & Russel you are becomng Legends Right Before Our Eyes and are True Los Angeles Dodgers Super Heroes and World Series Champions To Be! And Superman Jeff Kent wanted to repay you guys for your Ultimate Character ,and He did For You and All of Us Dodger Fans With His Game Winning Home Run Rocket Blast! The Invincible, Indestructable, One of The Greatest Baseball Players Of All Time!, Our Very Own,Superman Jeff Kent came through Again all PlayersSpeakin

lol TB sweeping Boston in TB. It always good to see them go down after what the Celtics did to the Lakers even though we should had won if game 2 was called fair and game 4 the Lakers didn’t blow that lead.

Good evening ndeschenes !
It is wonderful to hear from you a 2nd day in row. The beloved Dodgers did a wonderful job once again. They looked good both offensively and defensively. I hope to hear from you a 3rd day in a row and as the Dodgers head to San Francisco for the series there. Just heard in the background, the giants lost🙂 .
Have a wonderful evening (what’s left of it) and a spectacular tomorrow. 🙂

Jungar–Were you saying Lugo? That would be funny, if it were not for the fact that THAT IS NOT FUNNY.
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I think we just need to think of Furcal as out for the year. Can Nomar fill the hole? I hope so, but I doubt it. I think that Nomar is rushing back from the DL just to get re-injured. But, certainly, we should play him there while we can.
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I would say look for an effort to sign Christian Guzman. He’s playing well for the Nationals, and has had some good years in the past. But is a free agent at the season’s end, and has a $4.2 million contract. Last place Washington does not need him, and it’s unclear what kind of contract they would give him in the off-season. I don’t know what to offer, and am a little worried about what Ned might offer, but that seems like its the guy to focus on.

With His 2 For 4 At the PLATE, 2 RBI’S including His Double! All of us Dodger Fans , Let’s keep Believing of the Super Greatness Of This Team, until Kryptonite is Destroyed Forever and Our Beloved Los Angeles Dodgers Are Crowned in this Jubilee 50th Anniversary of Our Mighty Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles This Year Of 2008 The World Series Champions!

OPERATOR
Original Artist: Jim Croce
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Operator, oh could you help me place this call
You see Number 9 on the scorecoard is old and faded
He’s rehabin’ in L.A.
And forcin’ me to play ‘Dre
A guy I like to sit when he’s rakin’

Isn’t that the way they say it goes
But let’s forget all that
And give me Juan’s number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell him I’m fine and to show
I’ve overcome the blow
I’ve learned to take it well
I only wish my words could just convince myself
That my vets will soon heal
But that’s not the way it feels
.
Operator, oh could you help me place this call
’cause I can’t read the number that you just gave me
I think Matt Kemp gave me pinkeye
You know it happens every time
I think about my JuanP I thought would save me
.
Isn’t that the way they say it goes
But let’s forget all that
And give me Juan’s number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell him I’m fine and to show
I’ve overcome the blow
I’ve learned to take it well
I only wish my words could just convince myself
That my vets will soon heal
But that’s not the way it feels

Rafael Furcal will have surgery on Thursday to relieve pressure on a disk in his lower back and is likely to miss at least two months.

This puts the Dodgers very much in the market for a shortstop. It’s doubtful that Nomar Garciaparra is the answer, and none of the internal options have been close to adequate. A trade for Juan Uribe or David Eckstein could be a possibility, though Eckstein probably isn’t available just yet. Perhaps Edgar Renteria could also become an option later this month. Jul. 3 – 12:34 am et

And you gotta love what they say here:

Dodgers optioned LHP Clayton Kershaw to Double-A Jacksonville.

The Dodgers kept saying they were going to stick with Kershaw in the rotation with Hiroki Kuroda and Brad Penny returning, but the truth is that they have very little idea of what they’re doing right now. Kershaw was 0-2 with a 4.42 ERA in eight starts. This would seem to mean that they’re going back to a five-man rotation. Jul. 2 – 7:32 pm et

MLK – OUTSTANDING SONG!!! LMAO!!!
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I really was worried about the pink eye thing for the team’s sake lol!!!
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This line-up has definitely been a breath of fresh air these last few days, win or lose. 🙂

It kind of makes you wonder if surgery should have been done back when he first went on DL. sad,sad,sad 😦
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I have mixed feelings about the Kershaw thing only because the gnats seemed to let Linsecum work it out in the majors and look what he’s doing now. Then again, if Stults can be the guy he was the first two outings, then that is a good choice as well. See, that’s why I sit on the fence on this one – I like both options. 🙂
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Who/What would we have to give up for a quality SS?

Kershaw will be fine. It’s just a shame JoJo blew his first win by bringing in probably the worst possible option to pitch with two men on — Brian Falkenborg. No particular offense to Falkenborg, but wouldn’t pretty much anybody in the bullpen have been a better choice in that situation?
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We don’t need a great shortstop, just a serviceable one — read “Not Berraza”

Ouch Dodge! That must have hurt
Other than the broken bones in your hand are you okay with the fires and all? My friend in San Jose said the smoke was pretty bad for a few days, but seems to be better now.
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eric – LMAO!!!! too funny, eric!!!!!

i just got home, and i heard about raffy.. disappointing, but i think we all expected this once they sent him back to LA the other day.. they say 4-8 weeks minimum, but i don’t think we’ll see him play this season at all. sucks for him in a walk year.. but i doubt he’ll recover enough to play this season.. sigh.. i hope we don’t make a panic move.. nothing drastic please..

Oh, dodge! I’m so sorry! I sympathize, there ain’t nothing soft about a softball! We need the story, but we’ll give you all the time you need seeing as you’re doing it with only one hand. And you’re right about Conte. You would have been day-to-day first, then moved to the DL after he broke 4 more bones while figuring out your problem.

Glad you liked the change, nelly! Just typed “groundhog picture” into good ol’ Google.

sara – my question is and I have seen it on other sites. You kind of wonder if he went ahead and had surgery to begin with he may have been back by the end of July. Why didn’t that happen? I think the key was when that first scheduled day that Raffy was supposed to come back and didn’t, something should have been done then. It feels like another Conte disaster about to arise 😦

LMAO!!!! and yes, I do know it’s a groundhog and not a gopher, but still – it looks like it can get up and dance any moment now, or possible stand up and shoot us all, which is probably what needs to happen. LMAO!!!! I am just having too much fun with JP gone.

I prefer NOT to trade for a shortstop…unless we give up “nothing.” If the Dodgers HAVE to make a trade, what about bringing back Izturis? He’s not starting and only has a one-year contract with the Cards.

Hu, believe it or not, is still our future…and for this season, maybe Nomar can find the Fountain of Youth for the last few months. Based on how Furcal looks come season’s end, I’d offer him the old “incentive laden” one-year contract. In any event shortstop is “usually” a defensive position and, like it or not, the triad of Hu/Berroa/Maza has not hurt us with the glove.

dnelly said: “It kind of makes you wonder if surgery should have been done back when he first went on DL.”

Uh… no! You guys don’t get it! The lumbar spine is one of the most sensitive areas of your body and, it’s an area where doctors treat with the least invasive techniques first BEFORE moving on to surgery. This isn’t like scoping a knee and Raffy will be okay. He had a bulgind disc in his lumbar spine “pop”. This is bad, bad, bad news. Why? Because even though they will remove the tissue that is causing the pressure against the nerve (called a nerve impingement), the “hole” that was created by the “pop” will still be there. This is why there is a strong possibility for a recurrant injury to the same area again. The disc tissue can push back out the hole and press against the nerve and cause the same pain that put him on the DL in the fist place.

I’m not making this stuff up. That’s why I said that if he has the surgery there’s the strong possibility that his career will be over. If he plays again, he’ll likely have to have another surgery until he decides to retire and live a normal life without trying to be a super-hero MLB shortstop.

the actual story was me playing third base with runners on second and third one out, the batter hit a grounder to me and i feilded the ball cleanly, well i looked the runner back to third and looked to second before throwing to first. well when i looked to second the guy on second was running to third, i went to tag him with ball in bare hand. well he ducked to avoid my tag so i extended to tag him and ha came back up and the ball bent my hand backwards… i felt and heard it break… but we still won and i went 4-4 tonight

Then why is the management team treating it like all it will take is surgery? – I guess that’s where my confusion is – I’m not a medical person and if I am thinking this being this close to the Dodger organization, then how is the casual fan going to look at it other than just another mild set back. Thanks for the information though and clearing it up for me🙂

I think it works for us, and we owe it all to PierreEMW. If you didn’t catch it, I had been attaching that I Got You Babe song onto the lineup everyday that I could as long as Juanpy was leadoff, and the first game that the lineup was posted after his injury, JoePierre says, ‘that ought to make the groundhogs happy’! I’m sure he meant us Pierre-In-The-Leadoff-Spot-Every-Day-Haters. I laughed for 5 minutes! A militant groundhog seems perfect for us, at least until……

Fire Joe
Fire the guy who hired Joe
Fire the guy who hired the guy who hired Joe

Because they’re letting us down slowly. Ever see the movie “Apollo 13”? The scene where they’ve already begun their descent into the atmosphere and a guy at mission control thinks they’re coming in to the re-entry window to shallow? Gene Krantz asks: “Is there anything we can do about it now?”… knowing that they have no retro-rockets to correct they’re path, it was a rhetorical question… so the guy shakes his head “no”. Krantz then says, “…then they don’t need to know about it then, do they?”

wow dodge.. quite a warrior wound.. i got taken out twice on hard slides by big dudes last week while covering second base.. i was trying to turn the double play both times, and wasn’t able to because of the contact. the first time, i got cleated by the guy because he didn’t slide and he instead stepped on my leg.. and the second time the guy knocked me clean off my feet and i hurt something behind my knee.. i can feel it twinge when i’m on stairs now.. but i feel bad thinking i had it bad.. i’m nothing when compared to you..

Not only that… I can still believe in miracles. Who knows what can happen for Spring Training… or heck, even September. But I’m not holding out hope for this year. Stranger things have happened. But it’s highly unlikely with this kind of injury.

“Nomar Garciaparra is expected to be activated from the DL by the end of the week to play shortstop, but Torre conceded he won’t be able to go everyday. Class AA Jacksonville shortstop Ivan DeJesus Jr. is also being considered.”

“Andruw Jones is swinging the bat well while testing his surgically repaired right knee at Class AAA Las Vegas and is feeling so good that he could come off the disabled list before the All-Star break and be activated as soon as Friday in San Francisco.”

enjoy tomorrow’s game while you can dnelly.. starting friday.. we might see some mixing and matching again..

dodge, believe it or not, I played in a game over 20 years ago where a player actually died. He slid late trying to break up a double play and our shortstop’s knee clocked him right in the jaw, breaking the jaw and severely jarring his brain. He was immediately unconscious and the resulting trauma caused his brain to swell; he died about 36 hours later. Not something I tend to think about or remember…until tonight.

kpookie… that illustration is a severe case indeed! I don’t know the severity as to Raffy’s injury, but it can’t be good. The issue is the “hole” where the disc tissue has pushed out and has impinged the nerve. This tissue can be removed but, more tissue, through the same excessive movements that caused the original injury, can push back out the same hole and impinge the nerve again, even after the surgery. They’ve not figured a way to repair the burst disc lining so the injury doesn’t recur. That’s why they suggest to hold off of excessive rotational movements and… well… the kinds of things that make Rafael Furcal so exciting to watch play. It sucks… and I hope I’m wrong about it all and he returns to normal health.

The games in SF are too important to test out Andruw’s knee – what are these people thinking!! Well, they are not. However,sara, I figure for the most part, DY and Jason will do the sitting. Although, the Giants pitching matchups are Sanchez (L) , Zito (L) and Cain (R) so who the heck knows. I was just hoping to get through next week so I could see him during the Braves series, so I will have to hope Joe doesn’t sit him based on pitching matchups.

Yes nels, we get monsoon season from July thru Sept. Last year parts of the city even got golf ball sized hail. 2-3 years ago the Rio Grand flooded a town up the road called Hatch. Weird thing out here in the desert is that the rain can be very isolated. I had it rain once in the backyard, but not the front. When it does let go though it’ll come down in buckets. All the newer homes are landscaped with canali and a fairly deep trough to take the runoff from the roof and channel it to a holding point.

good morning, enchanted
.
gotta love eric’s picture of that Ground Hog – it makes me laugh hysterically just thinking about it, and I love your name for it Grambo – LMAO!!!
.
Sorry you have to deal with that horrible weather. We lived through a few flash floods in Las Vegas, but never golfball-sized hail – ouch!!. Here in Merced, we live on the Bear Creek (offshoot from the Merced River), and we have had a few flooding scares due to snow melt, paired with too warm of rains for the winter season. I have been evacuated once since living here in this house.

I know Bear Creek – pretty right along there where it runs through town. My wife and I did a lot of running around the valley from Visalia to Stockton rummaging through thrift stores for stuff to sell on eBay (an addictive hobby horribly gone wrong, but one that has paid for trips to Hawaii and Samoa.) I always liked Merced the best of the valley towns though. Does the mall still have the car dealership in the middle of it?

oh how funny!! about the cars – it’s not a dealership so much anymore as it is just a week or so of cars in the middle of the mall – LOL!!! However, because of the newly built UC Merced out by Yosemite Lake, the place has gone through a construction surge with houses and new shopping centers.
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You mentioned having property up in Oakhurst. Is it just land or do you have houses there too?
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And yes, I know about the e-bay thing but I am a buyer, not a seller. Always looking for teaching things and Dodger things. I am mild compared to some people I know, though
.

Still have a rental in Oakhurst. At some point in the next 5-10 years I’ll have to boot out my tenants and go back there to live for a couple years to revert it back to a residence before I sell it. Oakhurst wasn’t the same though when I left as it was when I moved up there in ’95, so I imagine it’ll really try my patience when I go back. My wife’s kids (kid’s – late 20s/early 30’s) still live in Oakhurst and Fresno.

Good Morning Dodger Blue Fans!!!
What a game last night that was. Another game of spreading out runs throughout the innings, and what a performance by our pitching staff once again. It will be wonderful to get three before heading out to SanFrancisco to face the dreaded Giants. We are only 1 1/2 games out!!
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The Pierre/Torre love song theme continues. 🙂
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Song: You Need That Loving Feeling
Original Song: You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling
By: The Righteous Brothers
.

You never close your eyes anymore when you think of me
And there’s some tenderness when you hurt your knee
You’re trying hard not to show it, (Juanpy)
But baby, baby I know it…
.
I need that lovin’ feeling,
Whoa, that lovin’ feeling.
I need that lovin’ feeling
But it’s gone…gone…gone…wooooooh.
.
Now, there will be no welcome back look in their eyes
When I start to play you.
And now I’m starting to critisize little things they do.
It makes me just feel like crying, (Juanpy)
‘Cause Juanpy, something in me is dying.
.
I need that lovin’ feeling,
Whoa, that lovin’ feeling.
I need that lovin’ feeling
But it’s gone…gone…gone…wooooooh.
.
Juanpy, Juanpy, I would get down on my knees for you.
If you would only get better real soon, yeah
Will have our love…our love…our love you don’t find everyday.
So don’t…don’t…don’t… don’t let it slip away.
.
Juanpy (Juanpy), Juanpy (Juanpy),
I beg of you please…please,
I need your love (I need your love),
I need your love (I need your love),
So bring it on back (So bring it on back),
Bring it on back (so bring it on back).
.
Bring back that lovin’ feeling,
Whoa, that lovin’ feeling
Bring back that lovin’ feeling,
‘Cause it’s gone…gone…gone,
and I can’t go on,
noooo…
.
Bring back that lovin’ feeling,
Whoa, that lovin’ feeling
Bring back that lovin’ feeling,
‘Cause it’s gone…gone…
.

good morning jhall and thank you – I can’t get over that picture of eric’s groundhog (Grambo). It looks like the military version of the gopher on Caddyshack, and I picture him getting up and dancing to that Kenny Loggins tune “I’m Alright” in full ammunition ready to shoot at a anybody who crosses us. LMAO!!!!
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enchanted – I think I have told you this before, but Oakhurst, along with all the mountain communities are growing rapidly too. All us valley folk and some bay area folk are buying property up there and use it for vacation rentals and such. All those towns up there have a lot more traffic and shopping then ever before and probably isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. I,however, still love going up there. It’s only an hour or so away so it makes for very good day trips. 🙂

enchanted – you should be talking- As I recall, it’s you boys (eric and you) who started this whole “love thing”, and now look who you have drawn into this love fest. There are millions of love songs out there, so we have plenty of material.
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LMAO!!!!! Grambo – too funny!!!!

Yep Nelly. That is a funny picture. I’m still cracking up thinking about E in the crooked thong and black dress socks being chase by Phew’s mama with a cat-o-nine tails. LOL!!! Only E could pull it off.

enchanted – I left too for that reason. I, at times, was only talking to the girls, but that was it, until eric and mlk came on. I think you had gone to bed. Also, jungar popped up, but we never figured out what he was trying to say – the system kept bleeping him out.

enchanted ~ actually, you were on intermittenly througout the game, but you came on after the game for sometime, but then turned off your computer because of the storm. Everything got medical after that – furcal and Dodge 16’s hand.

to say the least – LOL!!!!
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indians had a tough loss last night. With the night Grady had, you would have thought that was all they needed,but I guess not. Their club is struggling right now, too. The Cubs barely pulled off the win over the gnats last night and the same thing with the brewers over the dbacks.

Thanks Nell’. I guess I figured the 16 was for Andre and another Dodger chick. LOL!!! Cleveland blew it again last night but Grady and Peralta were great. Indians are struggling much like we are right now.

Hey dnelly, the first week of August I’m heading up to Bishop to spend a few days at Lake Sabrina, and a bunch of my Boy Scouts are heading to Yosemite. How are we looking in terms of fire issues up there? And weather?

perumike – The fact that it’s not until August is a good thing. You still have a few weeks. I believe most of the damage is being done down below Yosemite in the small community areas. However, because those towns are the ways into Yosemite, it may be harder (or at least take longer) to get into the park. I know there were times that vehicles had to use headlights during the day because the smoke was too bad. My family was going to try to go to Yosemite in the middle of July so I will be able to give you some first hand knowledge at least for the park itself. It’s a day trip for us 🙂

jhall – To score 10 runs and lose is hard – yuck. I got alot of fantasy points for Jhonny and Andre last night. However, my competition for this week killed me on Tuesday because he/she has Russell and he had major points, plus he/she has Victorino who has been hot lately. So, we are very close in points right now (last night balanced out Tuesday night) thanks to Andre – yeah!! My competition also has Matt Holliday of all people, but there is only 2 points separately him and Andre for the week – Holliday hasn’t hit a homerun this week either and Andre has (438 feet mind you – LOL), and Holliday is playing at home. Holliday isn’t even leading his team in homeruns right now – Hawpe is with 11, and Hawpe has been on the DL too. The guy doesn’t have an arguement of why we need Holliday, but then there’s nothing I wouldn’t be surprised with with this management right now. The trade rumors are focusing on needing to give up Kemp for Holliday because they think that’s how much value Holliday has so Ned would have to deal one of our biggest assets being Matt Kemp. I really hope Ned isn’t that stupid, but how many songs do we have that say the exact opposite. 🙂

perumike – because you will be on the east side, it looks like all you are going to be dealing with is smoke as far as Lake Sabrina is concerned. I didn’t realize it was eastern. Here is a report on that area, and the link is below. Iwill take a look at Yosemite itself too.
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Eastern Sierra: Hazy here due to the fires on the Western slope of the Sierra. There’s also a fire in the Buttermilks and across the valley in the White Mountain Range up by the California-Nevada border caused by dry lightning strikes. Good fishing at Lake Sabrina. The lake was stocked last week by the DFG, so fishing was very good. Fish up to 4½ pounds biting. Sabrina is about to spill and likely will next week. The Paiute Palace and Adopt-a-Creek are sponsoring the “Cash of the Day,” where the waters of Intake II, North lake, Bishop Canyon Creeks all will be stocked with tagged fish (look for the bright orange tags) redeemable at the Piute Palace for cash. No registration required.
.http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/outdoors/20080701-9999-n105978.html

Yep Nelly, scoring 10 and losing is sad. Indians bullpen is not very good. The Holliday thing is just ridiculous. If Dre played at home in Coors Field his stats would be better than Holliday’s. It makes absolutely no sense to even entertain a trade for Holliday. The asking price will be way too high and it would not improve the team. A no-brainer. Of course when it comes to evaluating talent and making trades, Ned is a no-brainer.

perumike – it looks like containment in the Yosemite area is between 75 and 90 percent which is great. Below are two reports from different sides of the park. It looks like you should be good to go, but if I do end up there in a week or so, I will definitely let you know.
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last updated: July 03, 2008 07:24:54 AM
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Containment of the North Mountain fire increased over a 24-hour period to 75 percent Wednesday after steep, rugged terrain in the Stanislaus National Forest slowed firefighters for more than a week. Lightning sparked the fire and at least nine smaller fires June 21. The blaze has burned about 2,000 acres in the Stanislaus National Forest and 750 acres in Yosemite National Park, west of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. No evacuations have been ordered, and no roads have been closed. “Firefighters and equipment will be working in the area” read signs posted on Cherry Lake Road. Officials estimate the fire will be fully contained by today.
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Thursday, July 03, 2008 – 08:45 AM

Bill Johnson
MML News Director
Tuolumne County, CA — According to Incident Command Team Public Information Officer Dennis Cross, the 2,889 acre North Mountain Fire is now 90 percent contained.

Cross adds that 100 percent containment is expected this evening. Resources are already being diverted to other northern California fires.

Currently there are 473 personnel fighting the 13 day old fire caused by a lightning strike June 21. 13 firefighters have been injured but none seriously. All have been treated and released.

Today’s plan of attack will focus on a northeast spike camp eliminating snags, or burning trees that could fall. Embers could then cross containment lines. In addition crews will be working to place lines around unburned islands.

thanks dnelly and enchanted! We’re going to camp at Sabrina the 6th through the 9th, and probably will mostly fish Sabrina, but may do some trips to local areas. Any recommendations are welcome and appreciated!

I put this confirmation part in because Diamond also wrote this:
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“Just a hunch, but stay tuned for injury updates…”
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but I just realized that his hunch isn’t that lineup will change because of injuries, but it is that the press will be given some updates on the currently injured.

While back surgery, as stated so well above, is always to be taken seriously and outcomes are not guaranteed, I found this glimmer of hope, particularly the last two sentenced, in the Dodger Thoughts comments:
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96. old dodger fan 2008-07-03 09:47:06
From Back Surgery Thoughts-
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Mircodiscectomy: A Surgical Alternative for Leg and Back Pain
Kara A. Rieman
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Mentor(s): John DeWitt School/Department: Health and Sport Sciences Low back pain associated with peripheral nerve pain of the legs (radiculopathy) that occurs over a period of months can be alleviated through a surgical procedure called microdiscectomy. The procedure involves moving the erector spinae muscles away from the lumbar vertebrae, accessing the impinged nerve root by extracting the ligamentum flavum and removing a piece of the facet joint. This type of lumbar surgery is much easier to recover from than traditional lumbar spine surgeries. Rehabilitation will begin as soon as stitches have been removed and the repair phase of the back muscles has been reached.

You know, not to be too cold about it, but this is costing Furcal HUGE money. If he played the whole year at a 2006 level, he would have erased the stink of last season and probably signed somewhere for at least, and quite conservatively, 4 yrs, $50M. If he doesn’t play again this season, will any GM risk a multi-year deal? It’s a little extreme toward the other direction, but it’s not inconceivable that he might be signing a 1-yr, $8M with performance incentives.

scott- Sooner than you think!
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Diamond Leung reporting in his blog that the decision has been made:
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“As somewhat expected, Andruw Jones and Nomar Garciaparra will be activated from the disabled list tomorrow and be able to play beginning Friday in San Francisco, where Garciaparra is scheduled to start at shortstop. The two cut short their rehabilitation assignments after three games and will fly to San Francisco today rather than play in Las Vegas tonight.”
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Plus Hu news:
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“Chin-lung Hu, after seeing a neuro-opthamologist, he has been prescribed eye drops that is supposed to take for about two weeks to clear up the blurred vision in his right eye. “

I was thinking about the injury misfortune that has befallen so many of Ned Colletti’s acquisitions and, you know, he just seems to have that touch. This song’s chorus sprung to my mind and I was going to parody it, but upon reading the whole thing, I find that NOT A SINGLE WORD NEEDS TO BE CHANGED. So it doesn’t official count as a parody, just a commentary on the General Manager.
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The Hollies
“King Midas In Reverse”
[Allan Clarke/Tony Hicks/(but mainly) Graham Nash]
.
If you could only see me
I know exactly where I am
You wouldn’t want to be me
Oh, I can assure you of that
I’m not the guy to run with
‘Cos I’ll throw you off the line
I’ll break you and destroy you
Given time.
.
He’s King Midas with a curse
He’s King Midas in reverse
He’s King Midas with a curse
He’s King Midas in reverse
.
It’s plain to see it’s hopeless
Going on the way we are
So even though I’d lose you
You’d be better off by far
He’s not the man to hold your trust
Everything he touches turns to dust
In his hands
Nothing he can do is right
He’d even like to sleep at night
But he can’t.
.
(all he touches turns to dust)
(all he touches turns to dust)
(all he touches turns to dust)
(all he touches turns to dust)
.
I wish someone would find me
And help me gain control
Before I lose my reason
And my soul
.
He’s King Midas with a curse
He’s King Midas in reverse
He’s King Midas with a curse (all he touches turns to dust)
He’s King Midas in reverse (all he touches turns to dust)
[fade out]

No big holes in Friday’s lineup “IF” Nomar and Jones can jsut halfway produce. We need Conte to start working on Pierre so that he doesn’t make it back to leading off and starting over Ethier. Stupid *****. Torre.

Haven’t seen any photos – wonder if we’re getting good Andruw or the Curacao Cow®.

Really a toss-up if we should get rid of Berroa or Sweeney for Nomore, though Berroa would be my first choice believe it or not. Think you’re right fogey on Repko going back down – JoJo won’t give up his favorite pinch nonhitter.

scott – like sara said last night, we need to enjoy these games without Pierre, and Andre and Matt better make the most of it so hopefully it will look really stupid on Torre’s part to sit either one of them. They are both doing great so far, and I guess we will have to see how Andruw coming back affects their playing time too. I think most of the none playing time will fall to DY and Andre once that happens. My guess is Andruw wants to be back in time to hang out with his buddies from Atlanta next week – sigh 🙂

Prediction – the month that Pierre’s gone we really get rolling with Kemp leading off and are acually up by 3-4 games. Pierre comes back in August to his usual out making position and we go back in the tank.

Good morning ITD boys and girls,
Like I briefly posted yesterday, I am not surprised to see Kersh sent back to the minors. We’ll see him back in a Dodger uniform soon. Yes, I know he wasn’t given the greatest run support when he started, but he’s only 20. He does have some things he can work on (like his off-speed stuff).

leekfink, a rotation of Bills, Kershaw, Penny, Kuroda, and Stults is possible and looks great. Not sure if Penny is going to be donning a Dodger uniform for very long, but that rotation looks good nonetheless.

westernmost, I agree with you that Berroa will be cut for Nomar, Troncoso optioned for Penny, and Repko optioned for Jones.

mlk & dnel, great songs!

bluecrewgirl, I didn’t get to see the game last night but I heard Dre’s got a HR! But until I read everyone’s comments about how big of a HR it was, I didn’t know. It is great to see him get off to a good start in July, considering he had an awful June.

Good prediction, enchanted – maybe that needs to be the homepage poll for that month. How many games with Pierre leading off will it take for the Dodgers to fall back to 2nd place in the division? We are only 2 games away from the opposite – exciting if that happens. It’s probably killing Torre right now that they are actually winning without any of the PVL’s except Jeff (which to his credit is doing great). LOL!!!

nope. my prediction. Pierre comes back, Jones will be back( blah!) , so Juan wont play everyday. He’ll bat lower in the lineup and we will win lots of games! The second half of he season looks bright.
If anything, Jones is the one to worry about. Not Pierre!

*Side note*Poor Raffy. I am sad for his end. This was such an awesome season for him. I hope is recovery is fast and he’s a “robot made of nails” next season.

thanks Amy. Yes, we can take wine. I am so looking forward to going to Trader Joes and maybe Whole Foods to get our stuff for picnicing there. How was the event?
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My brother said that Andruw looks good.
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Anyone see James Loney “Before the Bigs” He looks good wtih glasses.

I’m afraid without Furcal, as soon as Pierre is ready he will be back in the lead off spot unless Kemp and Ethier are unstoppable or Jones is still tanking. I think Jones just might turn it around, though.

Crzyblue- you will love it. If you are a Dodger fan and a Baseball fan it’s amazing. Nancy B played the organ while Tommy sang “Take me out to the Ball game”. They did a tribute to the Dodgers of the past and they came out on stage. One of the coolest parts was when they did “Gibby At the Bat” to “Casey at the Bat”. They recorded Vinney’s voice and it was a great climatic story.
The music was beautiful, everyone was decked out in Dodger Blue and the fireworks were very nice.

Both players initiated the change in the wake of the Furcal development. Nomar was going to be activated Monday, anyway, so his return is only being pushed up by three days. But Andruw Jones wasn’t supposed to be back until the start of the second half, TWO WEEKS from tomorrow. He was supposed to return to Los Angeles this weekend to rest, then resume his rehab for another eight days starting on Monday. As for whether club officials have any concerns about what this will mean for Nomar’s left calf calf and Andruw’s surgically repaired right knee, assistant GM Kim Ng said. “We always have concerns. That is our job, to be concerned.” … By the way, Brad Penny will NOT start on Saturday. He had some command issues during his simulated game, so he’s going to need another one. The tentative plan now is for him to be activated next week and make only one start before the break, probably start either Wednesday against the Braves or Thursday against the Marlins. Chan Ho Park will pitch Saturday night at San Francisco. Eric Stults, who is away in Indiana for the birth of his second child, will rejoin the club in time to pitch on Sunday against the Giants.

JAMES ANTHONY LONEY
.
My Loney has a first name,
It’s J-A-M-E-S
My Loney has a second name,
It’s L-O-N-E-Y
I love to watch him every day
And if you ask me why I’ll say
‘Cause James Loney has a way
With H-I-T-T-I-N-G!
.
By leefink and martinloneykemp

Amy, I agree at the moment that Pierre is better than Jones. But Pierre has hit his highest point, where Jones has a whole lot of potential, both offensively and defensively, that we still haven’t seen and hopefully will show up. If Jones improves, I’ll take Jones any day, but if not, it will be Pierre unless we make a move.

Sorry to see it and to have to say this, but Matt is seriously regressing, especially in the K department. If he can’t be coached, he’s not going to lend much needed support for this team. I don’t think much of our coaching at the major league level, in any case. That’s why I also think that Kershaw will be much better off developing at the minor league level.

messagebear – perhaps Kemp is being overcoached. I’m a big proponent of trying to make pitchers throw you hittable pitches by laying off balls and fouling off strikes that are bad to hit, but for some players it just needs to be “see ball, hit ball”.

At least Pierre is consistent with his hitting and getting on base. He steals like no other. He’s a team player, a nice guy, good attitude and put in so much extra work. He is Everything that Jones is not. It’s not like Juan slumps or makes errors on the outfield. His only crime is not having a good arm- which is bad in the outfield, but I think he makes up for it in every other aspect.

JoJo and Phew are the couple that we just can’t bear.
Ned signing Phew in a panic when he lost Princess Drew.
And since he can’t throw the ball to home,
Runners score on flairs.
But JoJo loves Phew and sitting Andre just isn’t fair.

Juanpy, its you in my lineup, your ring puts you there.
Leading with you, opposing pitchers we don’t scare.
And if you can’t throw with your arm, JoJo really don’t care.
Cause JoJo and Phew often cause our Nelly despair.

And if the fans boo Phew at home, Joe says it isn’t fair.
Cause JoJo loves Phew, and he plays while the team is going nowhere.

JoJo and Phew are the couple that we just can’t bear.
Ned signing Phew, in a panic when he lost Princess Drew.
And since he can’t throw the ball to home.
Runners score on flairs.
But JoJo loves Phew, and sitting Andre just isn’t fair.

Sorry Amy, but aside from Jones’ struggles the last year plus, Pierre is not even in the same league. He’s WAY better defensively still, and if you like getting on base consistently at a .290 OBP clip, then you’re aiming too low.

E T H I E R #9
Had to go one batter at a time as I usually do for the opposing lineup.
Wow that was some first inning 3 groundhog runs after 2 out and nobody on. L O N E Y & Two for D E W I T T.
We need these kind of inning if want to get to the post season, where it looks like it will be tough if we get there.

It’s ok Scott. You’re stats are correct. He’s not the best, but by far not the worst. I don’t think that he should be put down for being terrible. And his intangibles are important for our team and for the young kids too. Those things you can’t measure in stats.

LMAO!!! You got that right jhall, especially when you are trying to fix the stats to fit your opinion. It doesn’t help that he is picking on our outfielders ethier. I know every stat about all of them and then some.

Why don’t you at least break a bat and get mad at your self, Matt. You’re beginning to look as worthless as that Adruw guy did before he went down. If I could trust Ned to do anything right, I’d say good bye to you overrated prospect and try your wares someplace else.

jhall – I look after Matt too. He was bringing him up in the conversation too. However, Andre and Pierre are two topics you don’t want to mess with me on. LOL!!! Staying away from the Pierre debate for now, if you know what I mean. LOL!!!

JAMES ANTHONY LONEY
.
My Loney has a first name,
It’s J-A-M-E-S
My Loney has a second name,
It’s L-O-N-E-Y
I love to watch him every day
And if you ask me why I’ll say
‘Cause James Loney has a way
With H-I-T-T-I-N-G!
.
By leefink and martinloneykemp

for someone at work with only espn game cast, no audio or video to speak of, can someone please describe the inury to kent? is it serious? from the box score it looks like he’d have gotten hurt batting or running the bases. thanks.

It looks like swinging – he hit a line drive shot towards left field which was caught, but it sounded like a very hard hit ball so he swung at it pretty good. May have strained it when he followed through.

amy, DY has a better arm of course – like 99% of the world’s population, but I don’t know if he’s really better with the glove. He just hasn’t played enough to really know. The problem with Pierre is that it’s a mental boost for the opposing pitcher knowing that Pierre doesn’t do much damage with the bat. When he’s in the 1 hole, it’s like facing 2 pitchers in a row after the first inning.

There is a long list of guys who shouldn’t be complaining about what Matt Kemp is doing (or any youngster who is playing.) and Bear you are at the top along with some of the rest of us.

We just have to be patient. And Amy. I’d like to welcome you but were um off to a bad start. Let’s just let poor Juan rehab. I won’t mention him or how happy I am without him. Were all happy. Let us be happy…Were a totally different team with the threat of having someone (even if they K three times) actually be able to hurt you at the top of the order.

Bilz is moving into gem territory, just like Kuroda did yesterday.
This Furcaless team can go far on it’s pitching alone.
The Phillies, Cubs, Cards & Brews look tough though, if we can get past the Snakes.
The offense looks like it’s improving lately.
I hope that continues.

Way to go Billz!!! Getting an early lead really helps a starting pitcher settle in. Billz has been great for the last couple of months. He is beginning to emerge as the ace he was projected to be. If Kersh developes to his full potential, we could have a very nice righty/lefty 1,2 like Koufax and Drysdale.

I’m hoping against all logic that Andruw will bounce back to his old form. He had nice games at Vegas, supposedly getting better ABs, and he even homered. It should be a regular OF of Kemp, Jones, and Ethier. If he can give us some offensive boost, and Penny comes back to somewhere near last year’s level, look out.

Also, what the hell Stan Conte. What a horrible job this dude has done. Furcal should have had this surgery 2 months ago when he first got hurt. Not to mention all the other misdiagnosed injuries we’ve had, Nomar, Schmidt, Jones, Penny… Where is the accountability?

Since I live with gnat fans, I really don’t think Andruw and Nomar coming back is a good thing for this series with the gnats. Sanchez and Cain are not pitchers that we want to give Andruw and Nomar a chance to practice on (Zito maybe). Sanchez has been very, very good lately, and Cain off and on,but very capable.

I would have liked to see Bills finish the game. With 3 games against the Gnats coming up, im sure we’re gonna have several games for Saito to save. Bills pitch count at 92, i think he could go one more.

GREAT JOB BY BILZY
To bad Torre didn’t let him finish.
Did you see that? Sweenyey struck out.
.
According to the Astro announcers Brocail shouldn’t have been thrown out because he was mad at himself.
.
Nice slide to break up the DP by the BIG E.
.
LET’S GO SAITO.

jhall – she thinks they are funny, but still likes Pierre ( like I said, she likes him just to go opposite of what I say, and it’s usually to piss me off). My whole family is pretty amazed with the number of songs, thought, and they love eric’s car – who wouldn’t? LOL!!

We have to concentrate on the Dodgers and how they’re playing.
We don’t want to get to the post season by default.
Even though there may be less pressure, I’d like to get there as strong as possible because those Phillies, Marlins, Cubs, Cards Brews etc –look good.
I’d like to feel we stand a pretty good chance.
Even without Furcal we got to have HEART.l

I was listening towards the end of the game on radio, and they said that Darian Erstad, as a pinch hitter, is batting 9 for 37. Can we go get Erstad? He would also be a great back up. Say Pierre and Sweeney for Erstad?

the team i’m playing this week starts the brewers, so i’m losing because the brewers are winning while my starter (the red sox) are losing.. and yet, i’m not sad because arizona losing is more important. plus, once this series is done, i can hope the red sox beat the yankees while the brewers lose the rest of the week..

No I am not – going south on Monday for Dodgers/Braves instead. I don’t mind going when gnats are playing other teams, but it’s very difficult being there when you are a Dodger fan, plus my family is no help when it comes to protecting me. It will be hard enough watching those games on tv. Honestly, we didn’t go to AT&T last year at all – too much Barry Bonds stuff happening

I wanted to comment on an earlier post by messagebear. I share the same sentiments with you. I’m frustrated about Kemp as well; I also question his attitude and personality. I’m close, personal friends who know him personally and he’s not the great guy people think. All that set aside, Matt Kemp is a stud, plain and simple. There’s only a handful of players who I’d trade for straight-up. His problem is coaching. Everyone here knows that he can’t hit breaking balls outside, and he chases fastballs up in the zone. It seams like everyone knows that; everyone who’s not trying to teach him how to hit that is. Additionally, the fact that Major League umpires won’t give him the benefit of the doubt on any close pitch has a lot to do with his lack of production as well. For one, he’s demonstrated that he doesn’t have a very good eye, second, he gives the umpires $#!+ every time he watches a cock shot go by. As a result, every pitcher in the league pounds him up and hard, down and away; plus, every umpire calls the borderline pitch a strike. If he could lay off of those pitches he could hit .325 with 30 homers and 130 RBI easy; with a little more seasoning in the bigs of course. Mike Easler should be fired. Either he can’t see what’s obvious to everyone else, or he’s a terrible teacher. Either way, he’s not doing his job. If Matt Kemp fails in the Major Leagues, it’s because of a lack of quality coaching, not talent. Ultimately, Torre’s responsible for Easler’s performance; Ned is responsible for Torre. What does that tell you?

jhall – We are doing a family party with swimming, bbq and will probably go to the races at night for fireworks or the town just north of us (Atwater) always has parade and craft fair with firworks at night too. We always decide firework issue at the last moment LOL!!!

enchanted – knowing the movie, isn’t it groundhog day everyday – LOL!! How about every day eric has to post his song once Pierre is back LOL!!! Drink margaritas (or whatever your passion) and toast the Grambos – LMAO!!!! the name kills me !!!!!!

Yes, bigkace, I get frustrated by Kemp. He certainly has a lot of talent, probably more than any other position player on the club. He also seems to adjust better later in the game, like today after the three K’s. Coaching does him questionable good, especially at the major league level – I don’t know whether it’s Easler. I thought Easler was with him at AAA and brought him along so far. Maybe Easler’s style and strategy is simply at odds with Torre’s, and everybody gets confused. I had expectations that Kemp would be much more of a driving force now in his third season, but I don’t think he’s living up to his potential. Obviously I don’t want him traded unless we get some kind of a super return, and that’s always unlikely with Ned at the helm. So, I’ll just ride with our fortunes concerning Matt, but he’s not getting as much done as some of our other young players with perhaps less to work with.

northstateblues – how’s it going up there? Great win today – billz did a fabulous job, incredible!!! We need the gnats to lose today so it gives us some breathing room from them too. It’s not going to be an easy weekend. The only good thing is Linsecum is pitching today, so we won’t have to face him this weekend.

Pierreeastmeetswest, I live in Northern California, and I can tell you that the rivalry is alive and well. Whenever I wear my L.A. Dodgers hat, I get dirty looks from anyone in black and orange. When I wear my Brooklyn hat it’s not as bad, but anyone over 40 still gives me the evil eye (have even met a Dodgers fan from Flatbush that moved west, and roots for the Giants ’cause he hates O’Malley).

Not as bad when I wear my Jackie Robinson jersey, because he’s well respected. Yet, some Giants fans still remember he retired from the game rather than play for them when traded.

I’m sure dnelly gets it worse, though, ’cause her family’s Giants fans. I just live with Yankees and White Sox fans.

Just got online down here and it was great to see we won again. From looking at the boxscore it seems Bills pitched his heart out. That is very promising. Has anyone read/heard who will go down when Nomar and Andruw come back tomorrow? I’m guessing Repko and hopefully they DFA Sweeney.

hi dnelly, it’s fine up here, about to go to pick up the ol’ paycheck. Glad to hear Lincecum’s pitching today, that guy’s trouble. If Lincecum’s arm makes it, there’s gonna be some interesting Billingsley/Kershaw-Cain/Lincecum matchups over the next decade.

not so hazy today, there’s a bit of a breeze. Hopefully everyone’s smart up in NorCal with the fireworks this 4th, but what are the chances of that? I half expect Arnold Schwarzenegger to run through the streets of suburban Sacramento with a Super Soaker, trying to put out all the fireworks.

Now the two great NYC-pedigreed ballclubs get to see what they’re made of. Lucky for us, we have a guy tough as a robot built of nails.

Somebody should start an AP (after Pierre) log to keep track of how we’re doing since Pierre went on DL. Not that any results would convince Torre to have a different view of the great value he places on Pierre as a leadoff guy. But then I don’t place a great value on Torre as a manager, so that makes us even.

northstateblues – glad everything is going well up there. Yes, it’s very difficult wearing Dodger blue because on top of my family being gnat fans, my kids’ school colors are black and orange, too, and I won’t wear black and orange during baseball season.
.
gotta go to summer highschool game – blog you all later🙂

Thanks, Scott – 3-1 sounds like a pretty good record for us at any stretch.

Sounds like Nomar and Andruw will be in the lineup tomorrow with Nomar presumably at short and Andruw in center. Hope they can bring some offense, because Maza/Berroa and even DY have not provided much. I don’t know how long Nomar can hold up playing short, but we’ll find out and can’t be any worse off than this past month at that position.

I actually think that Kemp’s struggling. Part of that is that I think he should be hitting .315 with 15 home runs–he will, either next half of the first half of 2009.
.
But even struggling (and too many Ks’) his three games as the leadoff hitter has him with an OBP of .375 and an OPS of .836. That’s struggling for him, I think. But not bad for a lead-off hitter.
.
Glad that Kent is OK–he’s starting to play like he’s supposed to, and that’s big.
.
Interesting to see what happens with Jones and Nomar back tomorrow. The right move is to option Berroa out to AAA (I think he still has options) and to DFA Sweeney. Put Nomar at SS, Jones in CF, and Kemp and Ethier in the corners.

I am not sure the place you are getting your info, however good topic. I needs to spend a while studying more or figuring out more. Thanks for great info I used to be looking for this info for my mission.

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